Feed-water regulator.



PATENTE-D APR. 19, 1904.

J. B. PERKINS. FEED WATER REGULATOR.

APPLIOATION FILED T11R21. 1901. N0 MODEL 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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PATENTED APR. 19, 1904.

J. B. PERKINS.

FEED WATER REGULATOR.

APPLIOATION L D I B. 21. 1901. 10 MODEL. PI E E 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- YHE Norms PETERS c0 Mom-117%., wasnmmom n. c

UNITED STATES Patented April 19, 1904.

JOHN B. PERKINS, OF REVERE, MASSACHUSETTS.

FEED-WATER REGULATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 757,837, dated April 19, 1904:.

Application filed February 21, 1901. Serial No. 48,304. (N model.)

' To all whom, it Tnay concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN B. PERKINS, a citizen of the United States, residing in Revere, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Feedater Regulators, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is'a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to a feed-water regulator for steam-boilers, and has for its object ranged and inoperative.

to provide a simple and efiicient regulator by which the water-line in the boiler may be automatically maintained at substantially a constant level and which regulator is sensitive, yet of such substantial construction as to avoid liability of the apparatus becoming easily de- For this purpose I employ a valve operated by a float which responds to variations in the water-line of the boiler and moves said valve in one direction to permit thefeed-water valve to be positively opened by the pressure of steam in the boiler when the water therein falls below a predetermined level and which moves in the opposite direction to permit the water-valve to be closed when the water in the boiler reaches the said predetermined level.

The invention further consists in a novel construction of parts, as will be described. These and other features of this invention will be pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 represents in elevation a sufiicient portion of a steam-boiler provided with a feedwater regulator embodying this invention to enable it to be understood; Fig. 2, a vertical section of the float-operated valve; Fig.. 3, a detail to be referred to; Fig. 4, adetail, on an enlarged scale, of the upper portion of the valve-casing and float-chamber shown in Fig. 2; and Fig. 5, a section and elevation of the water-valve shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 1, (t represents a portion of a steam-boiler which may be of any suitable or usual type, and Z) the usual water-column connected therewith. In accordance with this invention the water in the boiler a is maintained at a substantially constant and predetermined level by means of a regulator which controls the feed of water into the boiler by ing-with ports j k in partition-walls Z on, the.

said valves being mounted on a stem or rod 01, extended up into a cylinder 0, attached to the said valve-fitting, the said stem or rod being secured to a piston 19, with which cooperates a diaphragm q, of any suitable material,

which is secured to said cylinder by the'head.

r, attached thereto by screws 8. The cylinder-head and diaphragm form a chamber t, into which pressure from the boiler is admit ted, as will be described, to open the valves and permit water to be fed into the boiler. The valves h 2' are closed under conditions as will be described by a spiral spring 2, which encircles the valve-rod and bears against the under side of the piston p and against an adjusting-screw 3, by which the strength of the spring may be varied for a purpose as will be described. The admission of pressure into the chambert is controlled by a valve 4:, which v may be designated the regulating-valve and which is herein shown as a piston-valve (see Figs. 2 and 4) movable in a cylinder 5, secured, as by a nut 6, to the conical wall 7 of a chamber 8, the said conical wall being ex- .tended from a disk or plate 9, provided with annular flanges 10 11, to which are screwed the two parts 12 13 of a casing which is practically separated by the disk or plate 9, forming a partition-wall into two chambers 14 15, which may be designated, respectively, steamand waterchambers and which communicate by suitable holes 60 in the disk or plate,which are indicated'by dotted lines. The steamchamber 14 communicates with the steam-space of the boiler a and in the present instance is shown as connected by the pipe 16 with the steam-pipe 17 of the water-column,

while the chamber 15 is connected by the pipe 18 with the water-space of said column, and

therefore with the water-space of the boiler. The disk or plate 9 is provided with a port or passage 20, which'extends from the chamber 8 to the outside of the said disk or plate, where it is connected by the pipe 21 with the chamber 2? in the cylinder 0, and the said disk or plate is also provided with a passage 22, which communicates with the interior of the valve-cylinder 5 and extends to the outside of the said disk or plate where it has connected to it a pipe 23, which may discharge into the atmosphere or into any suitable receptacle. The piston-valve 4 in the present instance is connected by a stem 24 of smaller diameter to a piston-valve 25, which is connected by a stem or rod 26 with a float 27 located in the water-chamber 15. The valve-rod 24 forms with the cylinder 5 an annular chamber or passage 28 for a purpose as will be described. The cylinder 5 is provided in its upper portion with a series of substantially small ports or openings 30, preferably arranged about the circumference of the said cylinder at different levels, so that the said ports may be opened and closed in succession for a purpose as will be described. and be termed steam-inlet ports, as theyestablish communication between the boiler and the chamber 8. The cylinder 5 is also provided above the disk or plate 9 with a like series of ports 31, which may also vary in size and be termed exhaust-ports, as they establish communication between the chamber 8 and the discharge or exhaust pipe 22. The inlet-ports 30 and the exhaust-ports 31 are preferably arranged in close proximity to one another, so that but a slight or substantially small movement of the valve 1 is required to open or close either set of ports, thereby rencheated by the line 7 O) rises and falls it propredetermined level.

duces a corresponding movement of the float 27 and of the valves 4 25, attached thereto, and when the water in the boiler falls below a predetermined level the float descends and moves the valve i downward, thus uncovering one or more of the steam-inlet ports 30 and allowing steam from the boiler to pass into the chamber 8, from which it may pass through the passage 20 and pipe 21 into the diaphragm-chamber t, wherein it acts on the diaphragm g and moves thepiston 19 downward against the action of the spring 2, thus opening the valves 7L 2' and establishing communication between the boiler and the pump, which forces the feed-water into the said boiler until the water has been raised to a As the water rises in the boiler it rises in a corresponding manner in the chamber 15 and lifts the float 27 which moves the valve 4 upward to again close the The ports 30 may vary in size steam-inlet ports 30 and to open the exhaustports 31, thereby cutting ofl the admission of steam into the chamber 8 and connecting said chamber with the exhaust-passage 22, consequently relieving the diaphragm g from steampressure and permitting the spring2 to move the piston 19 and seat the valves 7 2', thus stopping the feed of water into the boiler. The operations above described are repeated as the water-line in the boiler varies, and by reason of the sensitiveness of the controllingvalve operated by the float the variation in the water-line in the boiler may be reduced to a minimum and in practice may be reduced to one-half of an inch. In Fig. 5 the watervalves are shown as about half-open, in which case the diaphragm q occupies the position indicated by full lines, and when the said valves are wide'open the diaphragm occupies substantially the position indicated by dotted lines 10, and when the valves areclosed the diaphragm occupies substantially the position indicated by dotted lines 41. The piston p is preferably made of materially larger area than the water-valves, so that the said valves may be opened with a small amount of pressure in the chamber 2., and by means of the adjustingnut 3 the strength of the spring 2 can be adjusted to permit the water-valves to be opened at different pressures in the diaphragm-chamber, thus enabling the regulator to be applied to boilers carrying steam at different pressures. and to work as sensitive under one pressure as under another. In practice the valve-cylinder 5 is preferably fitted to the disk or plate 9 and the conical wall of the chamber 8 with ground joints.

I prefer to make the steam-ports 30 of different areas or sizes and to locate them at different levels, so as to be opened in succession, as in this manner a. greater or less pressure is admitted into the diaphragm-chamber, which acts on the piston therein to open the water-valve substantially in proportion to the variation in the level of the water-line in the boiler, which results in the said water-line being restored to its normal level in substantially thesame time, whether the fall is oneeighth, one-quarter, or one-half an inch. The steam-ports 30 may, for example, be made as follows, viz: the two highest ports may be one sixty-fourth, the next two one thirtysecond, and the next two one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter. The exhaust-ports 31 are preferably made larger than the inletports as, for instance, one thirty-second, one-sixteenth, and one-eighth of an inch.

The valve 25 prevents steam in the chamber 15 from escaping to the atmosphere through the passage 22. In practice the diaphragmchamber may be filled with water or fluid to prevent deleterious action of the steam on the diaphragm when the latter is made of rubber, and if" steam is allowed to act directly on said diaphragm water of condensation will form in a short time, which will fill the diaphragmchamber.

It is to be observed that while the apparatus herein described is made sensitive its operative parts are notliable to becomeinoperative, as they are inclosed and protected from accidents and, further, are not easily deranged, thus insuring reliability in operation in different locations and under different conditions.

I claim 1. The combination with a boiler, of a valve controlling the supply of water thereto, a piston connected with said valve to open the same, a cylinder in which said piston moves, a spring to close said valve, a valve-casing communieating with said cylinder and with said boiler, a regulating-valve in said casing controlling the passage of steam from the boiler to said cylinder and from the said cylinder to the exhaust therefor, and a float operatively connected to said regulating-valve and responsive to variations in the level of the water in the boiler to move said regulating-valve when the water in the boiler falls below a predetermined level and admit steam from the boiler into said cylinder, and to move said valve in the opposite direction to cut off the cylinder from the boiler and connect said cylinder with the exhaust for the same when the said water rises to said predetermined level, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a boiler, ofa valve controlling the supply of water thereto, a piston connected with said valve, a cylinder in which said piston moves, a diaphragm in said cylinder and cooperating with said piston, a spring to move said piston in opposition to said diaphragm, a casing communicating with said boiler and with the diaphragm-containing cylinder, a regulating-valve controlling the passage of steam from the boiler to said cylinder and from said cylinder to the atmosphere, and a float in said casing connected to said regulating-valve to move in the same direction, whereby the said regulating-valve is opened as the water in the boiler falls below a predetermined level to admit steam into the diaphragm-chamber and move the piston to open the water-supply valve and to close the exhaust for the said cylinder, and to cut 011? the supply of steam to the cylinder and connect it with the exhaust when the water in the boiler reaches a predetermined point, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a boiler, of a casing provided with a steam-chamber in communication with the steam-spaee of the boiler, and with a water-chamber in communication with the boiler below the normal water-line therein, a partition-wall in said casing provided with separate passages, a valve-cylinder extended above and below said partition-wall and provided with aport communicating with one of said passages in the partition-wall, a plurality of ports in the portion of the cylinder above said partition-wall, adapted to communicate with both of said passages, a pistonvalve movable in the portion of the cylinder above the partition-wall and controlling the communication between said ports and said passages, and a float in the said water-chamber connected to said piston-valve, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a boiler, of a casing provided with a steam-chamber in comrnumi- 'cation with the steam-space of the boiler and with a water-chamber in communication with the boiler below the normal water-line therein, a steam-outlet passage from said steamchamber, a valve-cylinder extended into said steam-chamber and provided with a steamport to establish communication between said steam-chamber and said steam-outlet, and with steam-chamber, a valve-cylinder extended into said steam-chamber intermediate said stea m outlet passages and provided with a plurality of ports arranged at different levels and adapted to communicate with said steam-chamber, a valve in said cylinder cooperating with said ports to open and close the same in succession and to cut off communication between said passages in one position and to establish communication between the same in another position, and a float in the water-chamber connected to said valve to operate, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a casing provided with a partition-wall, a conical wall extended from said partition-wall, a valve-cylinder extended through said partition-wall and secured to said conical wall to form therewith a chamber, ports or openings in said valve-cylinder, a valve cooperating with said ports, ports or passages in the partition-wall, and a float connected to said valve, substantially as described.

7. The combination with a boiler provided with a Water-inlet valve, a piston connected to said valve, and a cylinder in which said piston moves, of means to connect the said cylinder with the steam-space of the boiler and to connect said cylinder with the exhaust when the supply of steam is cut off, means responsive to the variation of the level of the water in said boiler to control the admission of steam into said cylinder and open said Watervalve, means to resist the opening of said Weter-valve and to close the same, and means to adjust the said resistance according to the pressure in the said boiler, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed 'my name to this specification in the presence of tWo subscribing witnesses.

' JOHN B. PERKINS. W'itnesses:

JAs. H. CHURCHILL, J. 'MURPHY. 

